Lost Memories
by storynerd
Summary: A haunting whistle in the night causes Naruto to run away from Konoha. Years later when the rookie nine meets Naruto again, he doesn't recognize them. What caused Naruto's lapse in memory and what significance did the whistle hold in his past?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: i don't own Naruto...I'm pretty sure everyone knows this**

* * *

Chapter 1

The wind whistled through the deserted streets, flowing around corners and into open windows belonging to the people that wanted to take advantage of the summer breeze. The wind streamed upward toward the open window of a rundown apartment belonging to our beloved Naruto, who was snoring peacefully on his bed. A happy smile danced across his face.

An entire year had passed since he and his team had rescued Sasuke from Orochimaru after the failed first attempt. When they finally returned to Konoha, Sasuke had still been in denial. In the following months, he had slowly reverted back to his old self, excluding the obsession to kill his brother. Everyone thought this was too good to be true but nevertheless, everyone was happy to have their last Uchiha back.

Tsunade-obaa, Ero-sennin, and the Konoha medical staff worked around the clock to find a cure for the cursed seal. After eight months, their hard work paid off. Sasuke's cursed seal was permanently suppressed. Team 7 was finally together again, even though Sakura was already a chunin. Life went back to the way it was before and Naruto couldn't be less than ecstatic.

Until…

A lone whistling sound drifted with the wind through the open window, its melody long and haunting. Naruto's smile slowly flickered away, to be replaced by a pained frown. As the whistle continued with no pause, Naruto shook his head and turned in his bed, his eyes fluttering with sleep. He clapped his hands to his ears tightly and winced.

"No…" He muttered, fitfully turning one side of the bed to the other in a vain attempt to rid the haunted melody.

"No, go away…no…NO!" Naruto sat upright in bed, eyes wide with fear. Sweat dripped down his forehead. He looked around in suspicion. His eyes were wide as they darted around the room.

The bed he was lying in, the picture on the desk beside his bed, which held a picture of him and two others whom he didn't recognize. Nothing was familiar to him. He jumped off the bed and backed up to the wall like a cornered animal. Naruto's blue eyes darted around the room in fear.

_Where am I?_ Naruto thought frantically and made a dash for the door. He kicked down the door, not wanting to waste time opening it, and ran outside.

Slowly, he began to take note of his surroundings.

Buildings surrounded him on all sides, some were shops, and some were residences. He looked back toward the building he ran out of. It looked like a run down apartment. Naruto turned back, his eyes absorbing every detail about this place. His features were marred with a frown, uncertainty and fear.

_Where am I? What the hell am I doing here?_

Naruto cautiously walked past the dark buildings, careful to keep his footsteps silent to avoid the people who governed or lived in this mysterious place. He froze when he caught sight of his reflection in a dark shop window.

A rather tall boy stared back at him. The baby fat was shed, replaced by lean muscles. Short, messy blonde hair stuck out of a ridiculous panda hat. The arms and legs were slightly muscular, enough to fill out the black t-shirt he was wearing. Green boxer shorts completed the reflection. Naruto looked up at the reflection's face. The mouth was full and had the looks of seeing one too many smiles. Strangely, three whiskers marks stretched out on each side of his cheeks. Looking past the nose, Naruto caught sight of crystal blue eyes. One thought crossed his mind.

_Who am I?_

Naruto shut his eyes forcefully and frantically searched his memories. All that he found was darkness. His eyes snapped open and he looked around in fear.

_This is impossible. No memories? How old am I? When's my birthday? Who am I?_

Naruto felt like a deer caught in the headlights, unsure of what was happening and what he should do. His head kept screaming at him to run to a safe place, a sanctuary. Naruto looked upward. There was no one on the roofs of the buildings and if he traveled that way, no one would notice him. With a pump of his legs, he jumped onto the roof of the apartment building with ease, like he had been doing it his entire life. He quickly looked around, studying everything carefully.

The buildings spread out in a half circular form. An enormous monument of five faces backed up the village.

Naruto's mind thought of ways to escape. Going over the monument seemed like a horrible idea but he could not see any exits from his position. Nevertheless, he knew that a place has to have an exit because if there were no exit, then there would be no entrance, which would mean no villagers. Unfortunately, this much thinking wasn't exactly helping Naruto right now when his mind and body were sending out distress signals for being forced into a position where he had no memories and nothing that he recognized. He decided that he would just pick a direction and pray to Kami-sama that he would come upon an exit. Naruto jumped off the roof and landed gracefully on the balls of his feet. He faced the direction he picked and started running.

After a few minutes, Naruto turned onto a wider road. Luckily for him, enormous double gates came into his view but they were guarded. Naruto dived into the shadows before the guards had a glimpse of him.

He sighed heavily and inspected the setting. The gates were wide open, as though tempting someone to attempt to break in. Power radiated from the two guards even as they sat there playing their cards. Naruto settled down, knowing that this would take a long time.

Maybe he should try the other gates? Naruto shook out the thought. The other gates were most likely guarded too. Naruto returned his attention back to the two guards. He examined of their movements to see if they were showing any sign of weakness. As Naruto watched, he could see signs of exhaustion. Little by little, the guards slumped back into their seat in their booth and fell asleep. Naruto grinned at his luck. He dashed through the gate, into the forest beyond. This was no time to relax. He was still in unfamiliar territory.

* * *

Sasuke sat up, panting. The image of Itachi plunging the sword in his mother was seared into his mind. Sasuke looked up and shivered. He walked to the window and paused, with his hands on the window handle. He could have sworn he had heard a whistling sound. Sasuke stayed at the window a while longer to make sure. The only sound was one of running feet.

_Who's crazy enough to run this late at night?_

A voice in his head answered, _Naruto would be._

Sasuke smirked in agreement and walked downstairs to the living room to pour some tea. He couldn't sleep after a dream of the past. He never could and he knew he never would. But the past had past. He should focus more on protecting his friends that he had finally found.

* * *

Sakura sat up in bed, her hand curled up near her heart. She dreamed of Sasuke-kun's deflection to Orochimaru, the dream that had haunted her a year or two ago but now that Sasuke-kun was back, she was sure her sexiness would keep him by her side.

A lone whistle floated to her ears and she shivered. Sakura stumbled out of bed toward the window and quickly pulled it shut. The whistle sounded haunting. It brought back many unwanted sad memories. Sakura quickly shook her head and sank back into bed.

* * *

Naruto jumped from tree to tree, his hair streaming behind him. The concept of "tree-hopping", or so he called it, was fairly easy. His body moved without his mind having to think, as though it was second nature.

He winced as stray branches cut into his face. His body was littered with bruises and cuts. A sudden burst of sunlight took Naruto's attention from the pain. He stumbled into the dawn light and looked around in shock.

Flora bloomed from every inch of ground around him. He had no idea where he was. This world was a complete mystery to him, much like himself. Naruto collapsed onto the lush grass, weak from the midnight run. A sudden noise behind him caused him to look up. A farmer was standing there, glaring at him.

"Hey you! What are you doing in my fields? You're the one that's stealing my vegetables and flowers aren't you?!" the farmer closed in on Naruto, glaring at him. Pain exploded at the back of his head as images flashed before his eyes.

**A woman glared at him, pushing her child behind her.**

**A man glared at him, shooing him out of his store.**

**An old woman glared at him, her grocery bag tucked tightly within her arms. She waved her cane in front of her as though warding something off.**

_Why are they glaring at me? Do I know these people?_

Naruto stumbled to his feet and sped off away from the farmer.

* * *

Naruto leaned on a rocky outcrop, hurriedly catching his breath under the hot sun. He had already gone over his limit when he stopped to rest in the fields and the further run made his body feel numb. His vision blurred.

The sound of footsteps made Naruto straighten again. The sudden motion made his vision waver before it was replaced with darkness.

Naruto fell to the ground.

* * *

Murmurs surrounded him on all sides but none were distinct. Naruto tried to turn but his body wouldn't move. His eyelids felt heavy, as if they were made of lead.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes, allowing the light deprived room to shift into a clearer view. People in animal masks and dark cloaks surrounded him, all displaying an aura of power.

He looked around as his vision cleared. Naruto sat on a hard, wooden chair in the center of the dark room. Candles, scattered around the room gave the only light. The circle of masked people blocked his view of the rest of the room.

Naruto tugged at his numb hands and his feet to no avail. They were tied so tight the ropes dug into his already marred skin. The three people standing directly in front of him began performing seals, so fast that their fingers were blurs.

"Gyaku Nagori (Reverse Memory) no jutsu!" The three shouted.

Before Naruto could inspect the rest of his surroundings, his vision blurred and energy flooded out of his body. His body limped and his head dropping down to his chest.

"You are traveling back in time. One day, two days. What do you see?" An ANBU questioned, his voice soothing and calm amidst the buzzing in Naruto's mind.

Silence passed. "Nothing." Naruto mumbled, his mouth dry and numb from exhaustion.

"What do you mean?" the ANBU asked with a hint of suspicion and confusion.

"I see nothing. Nothing's there." Naruto clarified.

"Then let's travel forward a day. Now what do you see?"

"I see a room."

"Is it your room?"

"No…I don't know…I don't recognize it…"

"What did you do next?"

The ANBU captain absorbed the information the boy dished out, starting from waking up in a strange bedroom.

As the boy finally ended with arriving in Earth Country, the ANBU brought a chakra empowered finger up to Naruto's temple and murmured a jutsu. The boy instantly fell asleep.

"Half of you are to stay here to guard him. Even though he is still a boy, I sense his chakra coils were trained and fully grown. He is still a threat to Tsuchikagure, even if he has no memories." The ANBU captain ordered and teleported away.

* * *

**In Tsuchikage's Office**

"Tsuchikage-sama."

The Tsuchikage turned around in his chair to face the newly arrived ANBU captain.

"What have you learned about the boy?"

"Tsuchikage-sama, the boy has no memory of anything before a day ago. No childhood memory, nothing. He doesn't even remember his name." The ANBU captain reported.

Tsuchikage listened with his chin propped on his intertwined hands.

"I sense his chakra coils are fully developed. I have left half of the ANBU squads there to watch him. But…the way the boy described the village he escaped from…it holds such a close resemblance to Konoha."

The Tsuchikage nodded in agreement.

"Have you noticed how alike he looked to the man that wrecked our beloved village?" The Tsuchikage inquired.

The ANBU nodded.

"The same solid blonde colored hair and his eyes were as cold blue as that person's."

"Tsuchikage-sama, if the boy indeed came from Konoha, then wouldn't it be better and safer for our village if we kill him now when he has no memories and no way to defend himself? When we have him tied up and in our mercy?"

The Tsuchikage chuckled.

"No need. The fact that he has no memories will work in our favor. If he indeed is from Konoha, wouldn't ruining Konoha with one of their own be the perfect revenge?" an evil glint flashed in the Tsuchikage's eyes. "We will take care of him, love him as if he were one of our own and when the time of war comes, he will be our greatest weapon. That wretched Konoha wouldn't stand a chance."


	2. Chapter 2

The boy closed his ocean-blue eyes and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. After a few seconds he sighed in defeat and leaned back on the wall at the head of the bed. He was decked in a white hospital gown, sitting on a white hospital bed, in the middle of a white wallpapered room. The blonde haired boy looked down at his hands, the same question coming to his mind again and again.

_Who am I?_

He was asking himself that a lot likely.

The opening of the door suddenly interrupted the silence in the room.

"Ano…excuse me, I was sent to prepare you for your last check up before you meet Tsuchikage-sama." The nurse murmured and shuffled into the room, occasionally shooting quick glances in the boy's direction as if he was going to attack her at any minute.

Silence filled the room. The only sound was the scrapping of drawers as the nurse pulled articles of clothing and medical tools out. The nurse arranged the tools on a nearby table and handed clothes the blonde boy and quickly hurried out.

Naruto slowly stepped off the bed he was sitting on and donned the clothes. Just as he finished dressing, the door opened and in walked a young blonde girl in a medic nin uniform.

"Hello. I'm just going to give you one last check up and you're going to be going to meet Tsuchikage-sama. Don't worry. He's quite nice." The girl added when she saw the look of fear on the boy's face. "Now, lie down and relax." The boy proceeded to do what the young woman said. A light blue aura instantly surrounded the young woman's hand as she held it several inches above the boy's body and slowly moved downward.

After a couple of minutes, the aura around the young woman's hand dissipated and she gently pulled the boy back into a sitting position. "Well, you seem healthy enough now. You've stayed in the hospital for about two weeks so you should be." The woman handed the boy his clothes and turned around to put back the medical tools. "So, what's your name?"

The boy froze. "I…don't know…"

The woman turned around suddenly and advanced on the boy. She covered the boy's eyes with her palm as her thumb and middle finger positioned on his temples. After a minute of silence, the young woman stepped back.

"So it's true. You lost your memories." The young woman stared into Naruto's eyes. "But don't worry, you'll regain it sooner or later. If not, you can enjoy life in Iwagakure." The woman replied cheerfully. "I'm sure Otou(father)-sa-I mean, Tsuchikage-sama is waiting for you. Follow me; I'll take you to his office. Oh by the way," she added, "I'm Yue. I'll be your personal doctor from now on. And another thing, you better think of a name.

* * *

The boy, whose name was now Taru, lay on his bed in his own room in Yue's house. Yue had volunteered to 'adopted' him. She was afraid that Taru would get into trouble in his new surroundings.

Taru trudged to the bathroom in his room that he claimed as his own in Yue-san's house and turned on the shower. He stepped into the scalding hot water, finally relaxing after the long day. He glanced down at the bruises and cuts he had received from the 'practice exercise' or so Yue called it that morning. His entire body was littered with abrasions, whether old or new. The steaming water washed all tension from his body as he reflected back.

The Tsuchikage had sensed that Taru's chakra system was developed and they were sure that Taru had been trained as a ninja in whichever village he came from. So he wanted to test him. Let's just say…he lost, terribly.

Taru turned off the shower and dried himself before going back to his room. He was rummaging in his closet through the clothes that Yue bought him when her voice suddenly shouted out from behind him.

"Ta-chan! It's time for dinner! What do you want to eat?"

Taru's eyes widened as he quickly covered his private spot. "Yue, don't come into my room! I'm changing!"

"Aww. Not Yue, just nee-chan! Alright. Okay. Just hurry up. I'm starving." Yue whined as she closed the door behind her.

Taru sighed. It had only been a week since his arrival and he had already gotten used to his life. Well what did he have to get used to? He had no idea what kind of life he led before.

Taru picked out a black sleeveless shirt and a blue short outlined by orange. He quickly slipped them on and followed Yue's whining to the front door. Yue brightened as Taru came into view.

"My my aren't we handsome? Come on, let's go!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Taru these are your new teammates." Tsuchikage-sama said, sliding a thick folder across the table to Taru.

"Teammates?" Taru asked, leaning forward to take the folder.

"Yes. When you arrived in our village, you were deprived of all your memories, including the ones that might contain jutsus you may have learned before your memory lapse. Even though Yue has been teaching you the basic ones from the Academy, you'll need to learn much more advanced jutsus. I have also taken into account your age. To pair you with people much younger than you, for example the newly graduates, would be torture so I have chosen these particular teammates. These two are probably around your age. They are going to be your teammates and their sensei is going to be your sensei. I hear from Yue that you are an extremely fast learner. Learn all you can from them. I expect you and your teammates to pass in the next Chunin Exam. Understand?"

Taru nodded.

"You're to meet your teammates and sensei in training area 3 tomorrow at 5 am for introductions and to receive your first mission. Dismissed."

Taru bowed and walked out the office, wondering what his teammates will be like.

* * *

"Ta-chan!! It's time to go! You don't want to be late for your first team meeting, do you?" Yue's scream found its way through the door to Taru's ears.

Taru groaned and flipped around, stuffing his pillow around his ears.

"Are you listening to me?! Do you hear me?! TA-CHAN!!"

Taru's muffled sigh came from under the pile of pillow and blankets. He slowly sat up and trudged to his closet, blindly pulling out two articles of clothing and putting them on. He pulled himself to the bathroom and did the necessary things, all the while listening to Yue's shriek from the kitchen.

Taru finally arrived in the dining room and sat down, staring at the charred brown…something on his plate. Taru rubbed his eyes and looked down again. The thing didn't resemble anything edible…or anything for that matter.

Taru looked up at Yue, who was humming happily and twirling around in the kitchen, ignorantly spilling water everywhere.

Taru took a bite out of the thing. His gagging reflex immediately went to work. He stole a sly look at the ignorantly happy dancing Yue in the kitchen and slipped the thing on his plate into his pocket and stood up.

"Nee-chan, I'm leaving!" Taru quickly rushed out of the house. Yue turned back and smiled at the empty plate.

"Hmm, I didn't think he would eat it but if he likes it, okay!" Yue grinned.

Two distinct knocks sounded from the door.

"Coming!" Yue shouted and quickly made her way to the door. "Otou-sama!" she shouted happily and hugged her father before stepping back to let him in.

Yue steered the Tsuchikage to the kitchen table and brought him a plate of breakfast. "I made it this morning but I had extras."

The Tsuchikage looked down at the plate and instantly paled. He gulped nervously and pushed the plate away from him with a nervous laugh. "I already ate, thank you for the offer. Did Taru-kun eat already?"

"Ta-chan ate his share without complaint. I think he likes it!" Yue answered happily.

"Really? I'm surprised someone in his world actually likes that…thing…" the Tsuchikage muttered.

"Otou-san, what did you say?"

"Nothing nothing." The Tsuchikage coughed. "I have to talk to you about something Yue."

Yue noticed the sudden change in mood and took a seat across from her father. "It's about the Chunin Exam right?"

"Yes." The Tsuchikage nodded. "Now that we have the weapon and the power-."

"You were deciding to authorize the attack in the next Chunin Exam in Konoha. Am I right?"

"Yes you are right but please Yue, don't interrupt me when I'm talking."

"Sorry Otou-sama but do you think it's wise to send Ta-chan to the Chunin Exam when he doesn't even know advanced jutsus now or have any teamwork with his team?"

"I have confidence in Taru-kun. Besides, I've attended some of his team missions and his team gets along rather fine. Taru has begun working on rather advanced jutsus after completing the Chunin level jutsus Kobayashi assigned to him. I'm sure he'll be capable when the Chunin Exams come around the corner."

"And if not?"

"We will cross that bridge when we get there."

Yue sighed heavily and stood up. "I hope you know what you're doing Otou-sama. Ta-chan's fragile."

"Of course I know what I'm doing Yue-chan. Trust me, Taru-kun's strong." Tsuchikage also stood up and moved to the door.

"No, he's not. Don't forget Otou-sama. I know him the best." Yue replied, opening the door for her father.

The Tsuchikage stepped outside and turned around. "Yue, don't become too close to him. Once you start to form bonds, letting go will be all the harder and the weapon will begin to rust."

Yue looked to the ground. The thought of letting Ta-chan brought unbearable pain but she held her emotions and stared up into her father's eyes. "I know."

The Tsuchikage nodded and walked back to the Kage Tower.

Yue watched her father until he was out of view before she closed the door.

* * *

Naruto panted as he finally reached training area 3.

Suddenly, a chakra presence appeared beside Taru. He flipped sideways away from the presence and quickly ducked under the kick sent at him. He bent backward away from the kick aimed at his head and back flipped, kicking the opponent underneath the chin.

There was so much one could learn in a week, especially if your body somehow already knows what to do.

"Hmp, you're good but-."

"Hey hey, don't kill our next teammate again. This is 15th teammate and I'm not going to let you kill him like you did the other 14." A girl pushed between them.

The girl had long black hair with light brown highlights pulled into a high ponytail. Her forehead protector was nestled on top of her breasts, obstructing the view of her breasts in her low collar fishnet shirt. Her shorts were baggy and extended past her knee to her mid calf. She turned her sparkling auburn eyes at Taru. "Ohayo! I'm Sachiko Yiri and the guy that attacked you is Yoshimitsu Keiji. Welcome to our team!"

Taru was frozen with fear.

_What did they mean I'm the 15th? What did they mea-_

Naruto was interrupted by the sensei.

"Ohayo…" a blur of black and kunais filled Taru's vision. He was barely able to dodge the millions of kunais thrown in his direction. Taru looked over at Keiji and Yiri. Amazingly, they were catching every single one of them and stuffing them into their kunai pouch. Finally, the wave of kunais stopped. Taru breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, the blur of black appeared before him and a ring of kunais were pointed at Taru's throat.

"If you don't catch them next time…I'll kill you…" the hoarse voice whispered into Taru's ears. The sensei stood back and grinned.

Taru looked up slowly and cautiously. Before him stood a tall black haired man, his hair tied up in a low ponytail. His forehead protector blocked his eyes and from his nose down, he was covered with bandages. He was dressed in baggy black clothing.

"Ohayo…I am going to be your sensei from today on…My name is Kobayashi Yuki… You may call me Kobayashi – sensei…" the sensei's hoarse voice gave Taru the shivers. As if Kobayashi-sensei knew what he was thinking, he turned toward Taru and stepped closer. "Do you have a problem…?" Taru quickly shook his head. Kobayashi-sensei slouched.

"Good, now let's go get our mission."

"Kobayashi-sensei, what about the introductions?" Yiri asked.

"To hell with introductions…What's the point of introducing yourself when your going to be stuck together for the next month or so…? You could get to know each other then……"

Keiji, Yiri, and Taru immediately ran over to the Kage's office.

"Where's our sensei?" Taru asked Yiri. Yiri spun around, causing her long pony tailed brown hair to whip into Keiji's eyes.

"Oh he won't be here. He never comes at missions. He usually just gives us jutsus and practice techniques and he disappears. We practice by ourselves."

Keiji was fuming. Taru looked over at him. He hadn't gotten a look at him since they were fighting and all and he mostly kept to the shadows, though he kept seeing Keiji staring in Yiri's chest's direction.

Keiji was leaning on the wall, his purplish blue bangs falling over his eyes and the rest was allowed to flow down to the nape of his neck. The tank shirt he was wearing allowed his arm muscles to show.

Taru turned back as Yiri stepped forward to take the mission Otou-san handed out.

"So, what'd we get?" Taru asked.

"A D ranked mission of course! We're still genins but we're two months away from the next Chunin Exams and it's being held in Konoha." Yiri ranted.

Keiji took the mission information from Yiri's hands and looked it over.

"Well this is easy enough. Let's finish this and come back for more. We can definitely get a C or B ranked mission if we complete all the D ranked mission." Keiji looked around at the crowded mission room. Keiji, Yiri, and Taru rushed out the tower to their mission destination.

**

* * *

**

That night

"So Ta-chan? Which sensei did you get?" Yue asked excitedly.

Taru paused to answer before going back to inhaling his ramen.

"I got Kobayashi-sensei."

Yue froze, her ramen dangling from her chopsticks.

"Ko-Kobayashi? As in Kobayashi Yuki?"

Taru paused and looked up at Yue.

"Yes, why? Is he bad?"

"He?"

"Yea, Kobayashi-sensei."

"Oh no, hehehe Kobayashi-sensei is not a he. Yuki's a woman! Her name sounds feminine because it is feminine. But you know, I didn't expect you to get…"

Taru didn't hear the rest of Yue's ramblings. "But…" Taru stared in shock. That tall, dark, dangerous, covered-in-black-baggy-clothes, hoarse-sounding sensei was a she?!


	4. Chapter 4

**One and a half months later**

"Okay brats…the next Chunin Exam is being held in Konohagakure. Here are the forms. You better sign it. The Chunin Exams is a group thing so if one of you don't participate, all of you are going to be disqualified. And you better pass because once you do, I'll be free of you guys." Kobayashi informed them.

"But sensei, aren't Tsuchigakure and Konohagakure enemies? Isn't that why we usually host our own Chunin Exams for our own village genins? Why is Konoha allowing us to participate this time?" Yiri asked.

"The chunin exam is a way to show off to other villages how much power your village has. Konoha is big and powerful so it enjoys showing off its power and keeping other countries under watch so they won't become more powerful than them."

The genins nodded.

"But our team is not just going for the Chunin Exams, our team has a particular mission. We are to gather information on Konoha's weaknesses. So if you don't pass the exam but has the information, you'll be able to escape death. Got it? Now get out of my sight."

* * *

Taru, Yiri, and Keiji sat in a dango shop, thinking over what their sensei just told them.

"A special mission? Us?" Yiri asked.

"Hey, we're the best team for this kind of mission right Taru?" Keiji and Taru high fived.

"Heard any rumors about Chunin Exam questions?" Yiri asked.

"I heard that the first phase will be some sort of test to test your ability to gather information without your enemy knowing." Taru answered.

"The second…survival and the third will be a fight." Keiji finished.

"They're easy compared to what we've been through with Kobayashi-sensei." Yiri pointed out.

Taru's vision filled with darkness.

"Guess who Ta-chan?"

Taru sighed. "Yue-nee?"

"Yay! You got me!"

Taru's vision returned to normal as Yue-nee moved into his peripheral vision.

"Tsuchikage-otou gave me a mission to give you a mission to change Taru's hair color to another color. Can you handle it?" Yue asked as she stole a dango.

Keiji was confused. Yiri was grinning with stars in her eyes. Taru's eyes were wide in fear.

"WHAT?! Why Yue-nee?"

"Because, since you appeared in our village with no memories about your past, there's a possibility that a citizen from another village will recognize you with your blonde hair blue eyes so we need to change your hair to another color so it won't be so obvious." Yue explained.

"But you have blonde hair blue eyes too. Won't they be suspicious of you?" Taru asked.

"They won't be because I didn't stumbled into our village with no memories about my past. Besides, I'm Tsuchikage's real daughter. It won't be that bad." Yue turned to look outside the flaps surrounding the shop. "I gotta go. I'll see you with your new hair color tonight at home!" Yue disappeared in a blur of blue.

Taru turned back to Keiji and Yiri's sadistic grins. Before he could say anything, he was yanked out of his seat and dragged down the street toward the nearest salon.

"Ohayo. How may I help you today?" a perky brown haired girl asked from behind the counter. Yiri slammed Taru onto the counter.

"What color hair do you think would fit him other than blonde?"

* * *

Naruto sat, dazed, as Yue-nee, Yiri, and Keiji circled him, inspecting every inch. Finally, they stood back with pleased grins on their faces.

"I really love this color." Yiri gushed.

"It makes him dark, mysterious." Yue commented.

"Can I look at myself?" Taru asked weakly. He hadn't been able to get a word in all after noon. Yue hurried to her bathroom and brought out a hand held mirror. Naruto grasped it and looked inside.

Staring back at him was a teenage boy with dark teal colored hair. The long bangs that had grown out was cut back to frame his face. The bangs cascaded over his forehead and into his eyes. The rest of his dark teal colored hair was tied back into a low ponytail ending at the small of his back.

Taru sighed. He looked nothing like his former self except for the eyes and the whisker marks. Taru reached for his forehead protector before Yue snatched it away from him.

"This headband won't go on your forehead anymore. That'll completely ruin your hair. We'll just put this headband…here." Yue tied the head band around Taru's upper arm.

"But Yue-nee the point of a _head_band to for it to be on the _head_ not the _arm._" Taru complained.

"Who cares where it's _supposed _to be. The people who made that rule are so last century. Now you listen to me or I'll dye your hair pink."

Taru immediately shut up.

"Oh and before you set out, you have to cover those whisker marks. They're just shouting to be recognized. What do you want to do to cover them? We could use a mask, or a tall rimmed shirt. No that won't do. Oh! How about doing it like Yuki! Covering it with bandages!"

Taru shook his head frantically.

"I'll go with the mask. I want the mask!"

Yue rushed to her room and came back with a black mask and bandages.

"I said I wanted the mask!" Taru complained.

"Well, we'll try both ways and see which is better."

"See?! I knew the bandages were going to be better." Yue bragged.

"Mhmohpmhpmmho"

"What?" Keiji asked.

"Oh shit. I used the hospital bandages!"

Wheezing was starting to come from Taru. Keiji, Yiri, and Yue quickly tried to peel the bandages off quickly for Taru to breath.

Taru shot a final glare at Yue before he fainted.

* * *

"AHHH!! We're finally setting off for the Chunin Exam!! And Taru, you look sooo handsome!!"

Taru, Yiri, and Keiji straightened when they recognized the voice.

"What are you doing here Yue-nee?"

"Kobayashi didn't want to come. She said she got sick from the party last night. So I'm coming with you to act as your sensei!"

Taru turned away from Yue-nee with a helpless expression and clutched his stomach.

_Don't throw up…don't throw up…_

* * *

The two guards were having a peaceful morning, checking genins and their sensei's passports, before the peacefulness was broken by a loud, "KONOHA!! YUE HAS COME!!"

A blond young woman appeared in front of the guards with an enormous smile on her face.

"Hello!" she said giddily as she handed them four passports. The guards looked behind her for the other three.

Yue also looked behind her. A bloodlust radiated from her when she discovered the rest of her team wasn't there.

"GET YOUR BUTTS OUT HERE RIGHT NOW OR I'LL KILL EVERY ONE OF YOU AND DELIVER YOUR LEFT OVER PIECES TO KOBAYASHI AND TSUCHIKAGE-OTOU FOR FURTHUR TORTURE!!"

Three figures instantly appeared at the edge of the woods, panting and dragging each other toward the blond woman. They collapsed once they reached the gate.

"See? They're all here." The woman turned toward the guards with a bright smile.

The guard numbly let them go.

"Yue-nee, please…I need rest…we all need rest…you haven't let us rest since we left Iwagakure…seven days ago"

Keiji and Yiri were too tired to say anything.

"Okay okay fine. We'll find a place to stay and we'll explore Konoha tomorrow, happy?" Yue asked.

The three nodded.

**

* * *

**

Three hours later

Taru collapsed on the bed, too tired to change his clothes. Keiji was the same on the other bed. Yue had set up an extra bunk between Taru and Keiji for Yiri, who was too tired to move an inch.

"Taru…how…could you…live with her…like this?" Keiji asked, panting in pauses.

"She's not…that bad…" Taru defended.

"Not that bad?! She…made us run…here…not letting us rest since we left Iwakagure…and she made us walk…for three more hours…just to find a…more…luxurious…inn. How…"

The three fell asleep immediately.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Notes: This is all according to the anime but I will list the name and their rank.**

**Sakura-chunin-medic nin**

**Kankuro-jounin**

**Neji-jounin-ANBU**

**Sasuke-jounin-ANBU**

**Temari-jounin**

**Kiba-jounin-sensei**

**Shino-jounin-Hunternin**

**Hinata-chunin**

**Lee-jounin-sensei**

**Tenten-jounin**

**Shikamaru-chunin**

**Chouji-chunin**

**Ino-chunin-medicnin**

**Gaara-Kazekage**

**Chapter 3**

Taru, Yiri, and Keiji were unable to move for the next two days due to extreme chakra exhaustion. The day they were finally able to move was the day the Chunin Exam started.

"Ta-chan, Yiri-chan, Keiji-kun, it's time to wake up!!"

Taru groggily sat up and trudged to the bathroom. Keiji sat up, holding his head, and groaned. Yiri was helped up and sat leaning on the wall of the room. But after each had a mouthful of Yue's 'delicious' cooking, they were wide awake.

"Come on, there's only an hour left before the exam starts. We've got to hurry." Yue walked briskly in front of them. Yiri, Keiji, and Taru trudged behind her.

Yue suddenly stopped in front of a building. "Okay this is the Academy of Konoha. The first phrase of the Chunin Exams is going to be here in room…301." Yue looked at the piece of paper she was holding.

Taru quickly pushed Keiji and Yiri through the door into the hallway after a quick goodbye.

Keiji and Yiri were walking peacefully on either side of Taru when Taru suddenly crumbled to the floor. They quickly kneeled down on either side of him. Yiri covered her hand with chakra to check Taru's health.

"Nothing's wrong with his body except maybe the aftermath of the chakra exhaustion but it should have been over yesterday." Yue reported, looking over at Keiji with a worried expression.

Taru slowly stood up with Yiri and Keiji helping and propping him up on either side.

"What's the matter, Taru?" Yiri asked. Her eyes were filled with worry.

"Th-This place…I've been here before…" Taru mumbled out.

Yiri and Keiji looked at each other. This was not good news. Yue had said to keep Taru away from places that could trigger his memory. This place was obviously part of Taru's past and if they stayed here any longer, Taru's past could be revealed. An exam proctor approached them.

"Is he okay?" a female voice asked.

Keiji looked up at the female exam proctor. She had short pink hair framing her face and was around their age. Keiji quickly stood up to block her view.

"Oh yea, everything's fine. Everything's perfectly fine. My friend's just…nervous…because of the exam. Yea…nothing's wrong." Keiji followed Yiri and the half unconscious Taru to a nearby deserted classroom and set him down.

"What do we do?" Yiri asked frantically.

"Well what _could_ we do? Getting his memories back would be better than being tortured, cut to pieces and killed if we don't complete this mission. Taru, you okay?" Keiji asked.

Taru opened his sky blue eyes and slowly sat up.

Only two images had revealed themselves during his breakdown. An image of a young Taru, sitting alone in a swing outside the Academy and the other was an older Taru, talking and laughing with a boy with raven hair and a girl with pink hair. They seemed so familiar.

"I'm alright." Taru slowly stood up, still a little wobbly.

"Are you sure?" Yiri asked, worried.

"Yea, now let's go take the Exam. We can't fail." Taru managed a brave smile for Yiri and Keiji. He made his way to the door, with Yiri and Keiji behind him on either side.

* * *

Taru looked down at the questions. He had never been a genius and after looking at the questions, he realized what being a genius meant. His brain hurt just trying to figure out what the first part of the question meant, not to mention the entire question and then trying to figure the answer out.

Taru looked up at Keiji and Yiri. Yiri's nose was an inch away from the paper, busily scribbling down the answer. Even though Keiji wasn't busily scribbling, at least he was writing something. He couldn't even process half of the question alone. He looked around at the proctors stationed around the room.

_This is impossible…_

Taru slipped his top bandage loose off his mouth and breathed a mouth of fresh air.

_What the hell are you doing Taru?! Don't take off your bandages!! You'll reveal your whiskers!! _

Taru jumped in his seat and looked around frantically.

_Stop looking around Taru. The examiners will notice._

_Yiri, you should at least tell me when you're going to contact me._ Naruto psychically sent back.

_W-wha?! You haven't done a single question?!_

Taru's face reddened in embarrassment.

_Listen closely. _

Taru quickly scribbled down the answers Yiri told him and sat back in relief. He felt a presence in his mind leave and watched Yiri slump back into her chair. Taru looked over at Keiji, who was also rubbing his temples. Taru, himself, felt a headache coming on too. The jutsu Yiri performed allowed her to come into their minds but it took a heavy toll on the receiver and person that performed the jutsu.

Taru placed his head in the crook of his folded arms. The headache from the flash of the past added to the headache from the jutsu made Taru want to kill himself. Slowly he fell asleep.

* * *

"-wake up. Taru…Taru-kun? Ta-chan? Taru-chan? Taru come one. Wake up. The exam's finished."

"Stop calling him all those names. It sounds like you two are dating." Keiji mumbled to Yiri.

Taru bolted up, his bandages slipped off at the sudden motion since he loosened then earlier. Keiji quickly covered his mouth and Yiri teleported them away.

They breathed a sigh of relief, hoping no one saw Taru's whiskers.

* * *

Sakura stood frozen in her seat. She couldn't believe what she just saw. That's impossible…right? Sakura looked toward Hinata beside her.

Hinata's eyes were frozen on the spot where the three Iwa-nins were before they teleported away.

Their eyes met.

"Naruto-kun…"

* * *

"Look, I swear I saw it. I saw it and Hinata-chan saw it too! Hinata would never lie. You saw it too right Hinata-chan?" Sakura asked Hinata.

Hinata nodded confidently.

"I saw the whisker marks. It was Naruto-kun's whisker marks. I'm sure of it!" Hinata confirmed.

The rookie nine and Gai's team were spending a little reunion in the karaoke room.

"Are you sure? You could have seen wrong. It could have just been scars." Kiba pointed out.

"No I'm sure it. Naruto's whisker marks weren't like scars and that boy's marks weren't scars either. They were too organized. Look I just know they weren't scars!" Sakura defended. "I've been with Naruto since the Academy and I was on the same team as him. I saw his marks every single day. I would know them even if they were on a different person!"

"Alright, we'll check it out during the third phrase for the Chunin Exams. Since Shikamaru will be the proctor for the third phrase, he'll be able to get a closer look." Sasuke ended the argument. Everyone had the same thoughts for the rest of the night.

_Was that boy really Naruto?_

* * *

A series of sneezes woke up Taru, Yiri, and Keiji.

"You okay Taru?" Yiri asked.

"Yea, I'm alright."

"You know, nine sneezes in a row is not normal at all." Keiji pointed out.

"I said I'm fine. Let's go to sleep. Tomorrow's the survival phase. Goodnight."


	6. Chapter 6

Yue sighed. "From what you told me, I can confidently say that Taru came from here. I'm not sure if Konoha is Taru's home village but he came here once. If that's the case, we need to make sure to cover Taru's prominent features. Are you sure no one say Taru's whiskers?"

"We're not sure. We didn't look around. Keiji covered his whiskers and I spent all my attention on the teleportation jutsu…" Yiri answered.

Yue sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. This was getting more complicated every second they stayed here.

"Yue-san…is Taru…Taru's real name isn't Taru right?" Keiji asked hesitantly.

Yue looked at Keiji from across the table in their hotel room. "No, Taru's real name isn't Taru. The name Taru was what he picked himself since he couldn't remember what his real name was."

"If someone called out Taru's real name…" Yiri trailed off.

Yue looked down. "We don't know…"

Silence descended over the room.

* * *

"Get your butts over here, slowpokes. The exam'll start in FIVE MINUTES!!" Taru yelled over his shoulder.

Keiji and Yiri trailed after him, their eyes had black circles around them, the effect of not getting enough sleep the night before.

Finally, the forest receded and training area 44, the setting for the second phrase of the Chunin Exam, came into their view.

"Well your team took your sweet time getting here." The exam proctor for the second exam exclaimed.

* * *

Naruto fell to the forest ground, panting.

Keiji and Yiri looked down at him, their eyebrows raised upward.

"Couldn't handle a little exercise?" Keiji teased.

"Shut up! I ate Yue-nee's breakfast." Taru explained with a groan.

Keiji and Yiri nodded in understanding. "Oh that explains it."

"When this exam finishes, I'm going to that ramen shop that kid talked about. What was its name? Ichira…Ichiru…something." Taru squinted his eyes, searching in his memory for the name that the kid that he passed on the street had said.

"Why do you care so much?" Yiri asked.

"The kid says it makes the best ramen in the world! Ichi…I think it was Ichiraku. Oh yea!! That's it!" Taru's eyes were wide with happiness at being able to remember something.

"Best ramen huh? Well, I'll pay if you can get a scroll for us." Yiri offered.

"Really?! You just wait. I'll be back in a sec." Taru zoomed off.

Keiji and Yiri began to set up camp and gather food in the time that Taru was away. It was apparent that they had full confidence in their teammate's skills.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Keiji sat down, leaning on the oak tree trunk.

"You think Taru got lost?" Keiji asked, turning to look inside the hollow they made as their camp.

A shirt flew out at him.

"Hey don't look in here!! I'm changing!!" Yiri shouted from within.

"I would asked why you brought a change of clothes when you're supposed to be worried about your life if I wasn't your teammate." Keiji replied lazily.

Yiri giggled from inside. "You know me too well Keiji. A girl has to look her best at all times. Just be thankful that I'm not like those shallow girls who can't do anything. I _was_ the one that got you and Taru through the first phrase." Yiri bragged.

Keiji nodded but froze when he heard a rustling in the bushes directly on the other side of the clearing.

"Come on out. We know you're here." Keiji shouted, jumping to his feet.

A curse was heard from the hallow of the tree that Keiji was leaning against.

"Oh not now. I'm changing!" Yiri mumbled.

Keiji's hands blurred as they formed hand seals.

The ground turned liquid, swallowing the enemy ninjas that were hiding behind the bush. When they were thigh deep, Keiji leapt up and snatched their pouches from them. The ground continued to swallow them up until they were out of sight.

"What's in there?" Yiri asked, stepping out from the hallow. She wore a short pair of shorts and a tight purple long sleeved shirt.

Keiji dug through the pouches, pulling out kunais, shurikens, and finally a heaven scroll to match their earth scroll.

"Guess we don't need Taru anymore." Keiji chuckled.

A shout from their left drew their attention. A blur of blue revealed Taru, his arms loaded with scrolls.

Keiji's eyes were wide. "How many teams did you kill to get those?"

Yiri was counting the scrolls that Taru had dumped on the floor. "Hm, six scrolls, four earth and two heaven. Not bad not bad but," Yiri brought out the heaven scroll they received from the team that invaded their space a few moments ago. "We already got a heaven and earth scroll."

"So, in other words, we don't have to pay for your ramen." Keiji concluded.

Taru froze, his eyes widening.

"NOOOOOOO!!"

* * *

Taru stood numbly behind Yiri, who was standing behind Keiji. The speech that the Hokage was say went in one ear and out the other. Taru looked around at the other lined up teams. There were only four other teams with them. The others were disqualified. Taru looked down.

_Oops, maybe I stole too many scrolls._

Finally, the Hokage finished her long speech about…whatever she was saying. The teams were scattering, some heading for the door and some going to their sensei at the front of the room by the Hokage.

Taru looked around, lost.

"Taru! Come on!" Yiri shouted across the enormous room.

Taru quickly caught up to them. He looked up at the railing on the wall for spectators. A sudden pain exploded in the back of his head. His vision bleached into white and he lost consciousness.

**"_Hinata-chan, kick his ass!" an exuberant voice shouted from the railings._**

_**A young girl with pale pupil-less eyes shyly looked up into his eyes and smiled. **_

_**A green clad boy jumped up and aimed a kick at a red-haired boy. Before the kick could connect, sand rose up around the boy to block the kick. The red-haired boy didn't move an inch or bat an eye-lash. **_

**"_I'm going to win this dog-breath. Believe it!" _**

_**The boy across the room scoffed and lifted his dog from his shoulder and onto the floor. "I'm going to kick your ass dead-last."**_

**"_Is he going to be okay sensei?" a pink haired girl asked, worriedly. _**

**"_Sasuke will be alright. If this match doesn't end soon, I'm taking him out personally, whether he wants it or not."_**

**"_Naruto, you're not scared are you?" the raven-haired boy smirked._**

_**The raven-haired boy turned away and walked towards the gates of the village. A sudden pain shot through his heart. **_

**"_Sasuke!" _**

The visions were ripped away and replaced by darkness.

* * *

"I heard they had preliminaries last time. I wish we had preliminaries so we could know-." A thump was heard from behind them. The two Iwa-nins turned around. Their last teammate had fainted in the middle of the spacious room.

"Taru!" Yiri screamed. Keiji ran over to Taru and lifted his head onto his knee. Yiri quickly ran to them.

Yiri surrounded her hands with blue chakra and placed it upon Taru's forehead.

Slowly, Taru opened his eyes. A name escaped his lips.

"Sasuke…"


End file.
